NLL Buffalo Bandits

Bandits Look for Revenge in Rematch with Seals

February 22, 2025 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Buffalo Bandits News Release


After losing their first game of the season to the San Diego Seals on Feb. 15, the Buffalo Bandits will travel across the United States to San Diego to try and get revenge on the Seals on Saturday at Pechanga Arena at 10 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN+ while Canadian viewers can watch the game live on either TSN+ or the new NLL+ streaming platform. You can listen to the game on the radio locally on 1520 AM.

Here's everything you need to know before the Bandits' second game of the season against the Seals:

Last Time Out

The Bandits fell to the Seals 14-13 in overtime last Saturday.

After allowing San Diego to score the first four goals of the game, the Bandits climbed back to tie the game 6-6 early in the second quarter.

The Bandits and San Diego traded goals in the third quarter, giving the Seals an 11-10 lead going into the fourth. Buffalo scored the first three goals of the final quarter to take a 13-11 lead with 6:54 left. The Seals scored a goal at the 4:50 mark and another with five seconds left to tie the game, sending the Bandits to their first overtime of the season.

After the teams traded possessions in overtime, the Seals finally scored 5:02 into the extra quarter, giving the Bandits their first loss.

Dhane's Dishes

Dhane Smith leads the NLL in assists (56) after eight games played, out-dishing Mitch Jones by three assists with two fewer games played.

In his last five games, he has 35 assists, averaging seven per game through that span, as well as per game this season.

Smith has 74 points (18+56) this season while the Bandits have 122 goals scored this season, giving Smith a hand in 60.6 percent of Buffalo's scores this year.

Players to Watch: Ian MacKay vs. Wesley Berg

Both MacKay and Berg had six points in Buffalo and San Diego's first matchup. MacKay had three goals and three assists while Berg had five goals and an assist, including scoring the game-winner.

MacKay has swapped between transition and forward this season but with injuries on the defensive end, his defensive expertise may be called upon like it has been previously this season in an effort to help stop the Seals.

Slowing down the high-scoring Berg, and the San Diego offense, will make the game easier for Buffalo so that they won't have to mount a comeback for the third consecutive game and can avoid getting swept in the season series.

San Diego Stories

Buffalo is undefeated in two all-time trips to San Diego.

In the Seals' inaugural season, they lost to the Bandits in their regular season finale, 18-7. Then, four years later, the Bandits beat the Seals in a low-scoring overtime battle, winning 7-6.

Check out the Buffalo Bandits Statistics



National Lacrosse League Stories from February 22, 2025


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